Can they close Spaceship Earth?

[mousermerf]

I've just been thinkin and maybe it's time to talk about it...

For a long time, well, since the park opened - it seemed wrong to close Spaceship Earth. This is not for emtional/historical reasons, but rather because of the park's overall dynamic.

Closing Spaceship Earth would create a big hole in the attractions lineup. The park has always maintained a balance on the Disney rule that people at a theme park can only do 15 things in a day. A thing being a meal, a ride, a show, etc - anything single "thing."

So, at Epcot you had 1 thing taken over by a nice sitdown meal, 1 thing from the fireworks, and most likely atleast 1 stop for shopping at Mousegear. That leaves 12 things - and you still haven't had lunch.

Thus, Epcot made a habit of opening 1 thing, closing another - and to the surprise of everyone involved, it worked! The bean coutners were right, people do only do 15 things, and as long as you offer some choices in those 15 they'll be happy!

They built Wonders and had a "spare."

So they started to swap things out - always opening one thing up and closing another. The latest being Wonders opening while the Land was closed.

Now, Soarin' is open and Wonder is closed. Soarin' has shifted the balance of attractions by replacing a mediocre small show and bringing in a big-pull ride. I, and many others, have gone to Epcot and felt the day was full and walked right on past Spaceship Earth.

Certianly other aging rides like Energy notice a drop as well, but Spaceship has spent so long being the untouchable. Its hourly count too high to not have, its pointy silver panels far too prominent not to notice.

Can they now close Spaceship and overhaul it? Can the ride be redone and closed for an extended period without Epcot falling apart?

I think it can. I think we've finally reached that point at Epcot and I really hope it gets done. As much as I love it, the ride is dated and needs something new. And before I get chastised for suggesting sucha change - the idea behind the attraction is whats important, not the physicality of it. If they can better convey the idea and reach a wider audience - more power to them.

What do you think?

 

[SoFlaDisneyFan]

I personally love the ride, and pray it never goes, but don't bother mentioning the subject here, either in seriousness or foolish babbling. I was trying to be lighthearted and novel by starting a stupid thread of distraction, NOT meant to be funny, and certainly NOT to be taken seriosuly but I was burned at the stake. Some of the people in here are very two-faced and just plain nasty.

 

[mousermerf]

Before anyone wants to "fight the good fight" - I really am interested in opions about the topic itself

 

[Hobnail Boot]

I think that Spaceship Earth needs a good rehab, but not a change in show. It is Epcot's signature attraction and icon, and thus should not have a change in story, etc. An update to the ride system, audio, and AA's would be great, and I definately think a rehab will happen before Epcot's 25th.

 

[mousermerf]

If they removed the ride system and replaced it with a different styl,e and possibly had to change, move, or remove a few of the scenes for pacing/visiblity/etc, but kept the same general idea, would you be ok with that?

 

[Hobnail Boot]

Not really, because each scene has a purpose and that would ruin the idea for me. Not sure about others but that's my opinion.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

I think if they removed the ride they would leave the empty spear there. It is the symbol of Epcot. I love the ride! I have only been on it once but it is one of the coolest rides!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

take out the ride keep it as the park icon and refit it as a multi floored pin and merchandise emporium with inbuilt Epcot themed character meet n greet.

The lower floor area could be turned into a food outlet, seasonal operation of course.

 

[Melerella]

SoFlaDisney...I found your other post nice...it got my mind off of the bad news in recent days...thanks

And I agree..Spaceship Earth is a great ride..one of my favs...and I think in a few years a rehab will be nice...b/c I think it runs great now...minus those "Don't leave your seat..theres a camera here"..signs..

 

[KevinPage]

While I do enjoy SSE immensely, I do feel they NEED to update/retool the attraction.

I would like them to keep the omnimover dark ride, but update or completely redo some of the sets pieces.

Somehow get rid of the video screens from your descent upwards and place them in the queue, so you have a nice long stretch of darkness.

Update the first thing you see, (caveman on a video screen) with something that has more pizzaz.

The mutiple AA scenes afterwards they could spruce up a bit, but if they kept them "as is" I wouldn't mind.

But once you start your descent backwards they need to completely redo, except for the city with lights and Sinfonia music.

I personally would take a pick axe to the Japanese girl & American boy video conference set. Stinking motionless mannequiens!!!!!! :brick:

 

[joel_maxwell]

i cant even imagine EPCOT without SSE. the days when Grizz would post some speculations of possible revamps of the attractions my heart would drop. I dont have the time to explain why i think it should stay with a major rehab.......... but i do have time to ask one question, what football teams are playing in the background on the TV i think in the scene before the fiber optic top room (not sure though) it has been 5 years.

i hope someone can get this factoid for me.

 

[violet_yoshi]

I personally would take a pick axe to the Japanese girl & American boy video conference set. Stinking motionless mannequiens!!!!!! :brick:

I agree with you, that is kind of lame. I liked the original ride much better, however I do like the glittery-lights thing at the end. Well, I like glitter in general..oh no..I probaly should stop talking about glitter cuz now I'm missing the old Journey into Imagination ride.

 

[Chase24]

take out the ride keep it as the park icon and refit it as a multi floored pin and merchandise emporium with inbuilt Epcot themed character meet n greet.

The lower floor area could be turned into a food outlet, seasonal operation of course.

You can't possibly be serious

 

[rmforney]

I think I got this from Jim Hill Media, but there were discussions supposedly at Disney to gut SSE and replace the attraction with a new one called Rocket Racers (please correct me if you’ve heard different.) It was to be part of “Project Gemini” a plan to redo the entire Future World portion of Epcot. The held off on it because to do the renovation they would have to remove major pieces of the superstructure and make it very unsafe to be around. I think, if this is true, they would have to build a new/temporary entrance into the park.

Anyone else heard this?

 

[lawyergirl77]

The only thing that I would like to see changed at SSE would be the ride mechanism itself. While I absolutely love the omnimover, the ride has become pretty clunky lately (I have clunked my head against the headboard more times than I can count).

This is not to say that I want the omnimover gone!!!!! I just want them to bring out the super industrial sized cans of WD-40 and fix it! It just seems as though the attraction is missing a whole lot of TLC and the clunky ride is the worst of these problems, IMHO. Once that got solved, then they could focus in on the details.

 

[Edeyore]

take out the ride keep it as the park icon and refit it as a multi floored pin and merchandise emporium with inbuilt Epcot themed character meet n greet.

The lower floor area could be turned into a food outlet, seasonal operation of course.

We can only hope that the top brass at Disney didn't hear this suggestion.
It could happen. (Run away screaming and waving my arms.)

 

[Jacks Sally]

close Spaceship Earth?

I surely hope not I really like it
and it's my younest fav at Epcot
all the can talk about before we go
is the ride in the big golfball

*Crosses her fingers*

 

[Gepettotrevor]

take out the ride keep it as the park icon and refit it as a multi floored pin and merchandise emporium with inbuilt Epcot themed character meet n greet.

The lower floor area could be turned into a food outlet, seasonal operation of course.

NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Darth Angelo]

I live in Ft. Lauderdale and go to WDW 3 - 4 times a year. And each time we visit Epcot. And the first thing we do and the last thing we do is go on SSE. So it would be very sad to see it go.

Thrill Rides are great and I love them. But this World also needs a few Classic Dark Rides like SSE.

 

[ead79]

I do not think that Spaceship Earth should be closed. Ignoring my personal love of the attraction (it’s my favorite at WDW), I think there is a great case for keeping it:

Spaceship Earth has universal appeal. It’s message and ride system can be appreciated by young and old alike. Just as Walt Disney had in mind, it’s a ride that isn’t aimed at one specific age group, but rather one that appeals to most everyone. Also, it is an example of what Disney has done best at Epcot—makes it interesting to explore the history of communication via the use of a slow moving dark ride. Of course, there are very few examples left in the park of this type of storytelling media. Epcot has its fair share of thrilling attractions (M:S, Test Track, Soarin’ (sort of)), and I think it is critical that they keep offering attractions that can be enjoyed by all. I certainly am in favor of a general sprucing up type of rehab where the ride is smoothed out and the sets are updated and refurbished. However, I think it would be a shame to change the attraction substantially. While the message is important, so is the way it is presented.